Sex doll, a special profession in the Cyberpunk 2077 world, but one of the oldest professions in human history. The whole body is equipped with cyberware for pleasure, then the operating system is loaded with software of the same purpose, waiting for customers to arrive, transforming into a marvelous tool that makes the customer feel like they're in heaven.
Leo and V listened on the side, their expressions unchanged, but they started discussing privately.
V: "Turns out it's a sex doll awakening independent consciousness. Honestly, I don't quite get it. She managed to get a job at Kang Tao with this line of work; what more could she be dissatisfied with?"
Leo: "It's said that power can be transmitted through, well, you know what. Since Cai Pin reached this position, how could she still be satisfied with just being a toy?"
V: "Maybe, but this sure is a messy situation."
Leo: "Indeed—how about a bet? I guess Zhu Shen will ask Cai Pin who she's colluding with. Let's bet on who that person is."
V: "What do you mean? There's someone backing Cai Pin?"
Leo: "Did you forget our 1 million euro crime permit? Of course, Cai Pin would have gotten one too."
V: "Then I guess it's Militech, probably some corporate warfare. If they can sell it to us, they can sell it to Cai Pin too."
Leo: "I also think it's corporate warfare, but it's clearly the European Corporate Alliance behind this. Did your brain short-circuit? If it was Militech, they could have just taken the 1 million euros and then arrested us."
V: "Screw you."
Zhu Shen raised the pistol: "One last question, who were you planning to sell the stuff to?"
Cai Pin sneered: "Does it matter? Seeing this scene, they definitely won't show up anymore."
"I said I might give you a quick death for old time's sake."
Cai Pin suddenly switched tactics, pausing for a moment, then stared at Zhu Shen and started laughing: "Europeans—but you're in big trouble now. Don't you always say, to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your own people? I bet you don't even know what's inside, do you?"
Hearing this, Zhu Shen's expression changed dramatically, and he shot Cai Pin in the head!
Leo frowned: "I don't mean to pry into the employer's privacy, but what did she mean? That didn't sound quite right."
Zhu Shen's face remained unchanged: "Nothing, just load the stuff into the car."
Something was off with Zhu Shen's state. Leo frowned, suddenly noticing a blue glow in this guy's eyes! That's the sign of the system reconnecting to the network! But according to their agreement, they were supposed to wait until the vehicle reached the Night City border to reboot!
"Damn it—you rebooted the cyberware? This wasn't the agreed time! V!"
At the command, V immediately raised the massive Komainu sniper rifle, pointing it at Zhu Shen.
The latter remained calm: "I'll add more money. As long as the mission is completed, I can add another 1 million euros."
"Money's no good if you're dead. What's really inside?"
Leo had just asked when his cybernetic eye suddenly displayed a flood of information!
"Your network access has been blocked."
"You have violated New USA Security Management Regulations, Chapter 3, Article XXX."
"You have violated New USA Corporate Management Regulations, Chapter 2, Article XXX."
"You have..."
"Damn, we're wanted! This guy set us up!" V's face also changed. Atlanta only fully locks down and issues a warrant for one type of criminal—the type that needs to be shot on sight! In other words, they were now treated like cyberpsychos!
Zhu Shen wasn't fazed at all: "2 million euros—and I can tell you why. Inside is indeed Kang Tao's prototype weaponry."
"Five Yinglong (G-58 Dian) smart submachine guns, five Ba Xing Chong smart shotguns, and some ammunition and bulletproof vests."
"These weapons are important, but one thing inside is more valuable than all the prototype weapons combined."
"A military-grade prototype Sandevistan, said to be more advanced than the "Apogee" model, the next generation of Sandevistan."
"I don't know where it came from, but the company needs it."
"Kang Tao has the best intelligent systems in the world, the most advanced chip manufacturing technology, but they've been unable to break through in cyberware systems."
"But Militech is different. After the North American War, they had a large number of wounded for experimentation. We don't do that, we just need this prototype."
"This Sandevistan barely has any software drivers written in; we can open all the biological interfaces for research."
"It can significantly help us break Militech's technological blockade in this area—and I believe, it can also save your life."
Here it comes—Leo thought this sounded all too familiar.
Corporate promises. This was something often heard in the game, and he was sure he'd hear it a lot more in the future.
"Indeed, you don't need to conduct human experiments; you just steal the results of human experiments."
V finished and glanced at Leo: "You might be tempted, but I should remind you, if you install a new cyberware, you're more likely to be the test subject."
Zhu Shen continued: "We don't have time. Militech's forces will be here in 20 minutes. If you kill me, you won't survive either."
Leo looked at Zhu Shen and suddenly smiled.
"Mr. Zhu, you really played me for a fool. Transfer the money first. V, load up the goods."
"Our car might not make it." V looked at the van with half the cargo compartment blown apart, "Damn it, cost me 3000 euros too."
"Then go hijack one—we're wanted criminals anyway."
V was stunned for a moment, then cursed and looked toward the highway—there were still cars unaware of the situation driving this way, but not for long.
After a few gunshots, the road became even more chaotic, but Leo didn't care about that. He trusted V to handle it.
Zhu Shen's appreciation for Leo grew as he looked at him: "My offer still stands. Kang Tao's doors will always be open to you—I only have 400,000 euros left on hand. Didn't expect so many screw-ups on this mission, the emergency funds are almost depleted, but you can trust Kang Tao's reputation."
"Better be so—"
As Leo was speaking, he received a transmission from Knott: "Kid, you should have received the notice that you're wanted by now."
"Since you did me a solid this time, shoot that Kang Tao dog and bring the stuff back. I can guarantee you a safe return to Night City."
Leo had just been thinking that he'd hear a lot of corporate promises in the future, and here came another one.
Flashes from the game came to mind, remembering the outcomes of hearing corporate promises. Leo looked at the network boundary map, and plans began to take shape in his mind.
He responded: "Alright, but Zhu Shen has some heavy combat cyberware. I can give you the route map to assist in intercepting him."
"Smart move."
After replying, Leo quickly spoke before Zhu Shen could open his mouth: "Someone contacted me. I tricked them into thinking I'd be an insider; they'll be on our tail."
"I'll lead the meeting point to within 40 kilometers nearby. I guess your people will be waiting at the border, right?"
"That'll be enough." Zhu Shen gave Leo a look of approval, patting him on the shoulder. "This mission is indeed dangerous, might just be certain death. Let me front you some personal cash—after all, if you die without ever having been rich, that'd be a huge loss."
"Let's see, the signal is a bit weak, the network boundary seems to be shifting, and it's heading our way. That's good news."
"We can cut down the distance to cross the network boundary."
Another 400,000 euros in the account, and Leo's balance instantly surpassed the 1,000,000 euros mark.
V's mood improved, but Leo wasn't as happy. These corporate dogs never tell the truth, claiming all the money was already handed over before, but now suddenly producing more, clearly just to keep him hooked.
Screech—
A Columbus V340 van, identical to the one that exploded, appeared before the two of them, though it was the unarmored version.
V poked her head out from the driver's seat: "Lucky us. Feels like home, doesn't it, Kang Tao dog?"
Zhu Shen didn't respond, ignoring V as he opened the cargo bay of the Kang Tao transport van.
V flipped Zhu Shen off and then said to Leo: "I admit, your pitch got to me, but this time Militech's armed squad is coming, buddy. This is a big loss."
Leo's cybernetic eye flashed blue, and 500,000 euros were transferred over.
"At least we made a big score—do you know when you look the coolest? When you're standing up to a corporate dog. Now, load the stuff."
V's face lit up instantly.
Leo internally mused: Three sentences to make a woman willing to die for me.
Of course, it could also be the 500,000.